Jeff

West County, MO

Jeff M.

I have always been athletic.  As a teen and young adult, I competed in sports in high school and college and throughout my life, I have worked out regularly at the gym.  This year I will turn 50, and with that day approaching, I looked at myself and realized that I didn’t like the way I looked or felt physically or mentally.  I had been working out at Life Time, primarily lifting weights, for a few years but had not taken advantage of the programs, like the 60day or classes offered there.  That is when I was introduced to my trainer, Theo.  We started training about a year ago, meeting once or twice a week.  At that time, I was lifting weights five or six days a week and running a mile or two when I wanted to do a cardio workout and was generally unsatisfied with my results.   Early this spring, Theo suggested that to help me find that competitive edge again, I should do the 60day. I reluctantly agreed because mentally I had zero desire to what I envisioned the 60day to be.

Day one of the challenge, we took photographs and I was completely taken aback by the way I looked.  It was one of the hardest mental hurdles to overcome as I definitely did not look like I was in the kind of shape I believed I was in.  Quite frankly it was depressing.  I was overweight and approaching 50 years old.  As we began the challenge, Theo talked to me about Core 3—Know It, Nourish It, Move It.  When I took on this 60day, I initially viewed it as simply a test of improving my physical fitness.  Theo’s guidance through the beginning stages helped me to understand that the Life Time method’s Core 3 principles are designed to help me improve both physically and mentally and not just for the duration of a 60day.  As I have incorporated these three principles, not only in my workouts, but in all areas of my life, they have become my new way of thinking and working.

One of the Core 3 principles relates to nutrition.  If you had asked me before I would have told you that even with all the hours of travel in a car and nights away from home that are required by my work, that I ate a fairly healthy diet.  One of the first things I did at the beginning of the challenge was the D.TOX program followed by GUT.FIX.  These two programs showed me that the supposedly healthy diet I thought I was eating, was completely full of hidden sugars, salts and fats.  As a result, I have changed the way that I am thinking about the foods that I eat and the drinks I consume and the effect they have on my weight, body fat and inflammation.  Since I’ve become more aware of the affects that certain types of foods have on my body, I have become much more vigilant about checking nutrition labels to make sure that the food that I am consuming is the right kind of foods and aren’t hindering my progress.  In the past I might have had a glass of bourbon to wind down in the evening, as I have cut back to only the occasional drink, I have found that I feel better and sleep better and the inflammation in my body has decreased drastically.

As the 60day progressed and each time as I felt like I had hit a wall, Theo introduced new challenges to keep me motivated such as circuit training, the Murph, and the filthy 50 often with a 20lb plated weight vest.  I had run with a weight vest before, but Theo took it to a whole new level—so much that now I have a group of other club members who are also wearing weight vests and working these circuits with me to help keep me motivated.  Little by little as the 60day progressed the whole club seems to have gotten behind me.  Walking through the gym, different trainers and members, even the General Manager Sebastian, at West County have asked about my progress and encouraged me to keep moving forward.  Two of the trainers invited me to work out with their classes to help me meet my goals:  Bobby asked me to join his Alpha class and Wes, his Alpha Metcon class.  Both I did with my plated vest.  Other club members that I didn’t know before have asked to work out with me.  My four consistent workout buddies– Nick, Garry, Meagan, and Sarah have supported me through the whole challenge, all have at some point put on a weighted vest and challenged me to do more.   I have truly felt like the entire Life Time community has embraced my challenge and that win or lose, the effect of this new camaraderie will be one of the many lasting effects this 60day has had on my life and for that I am thankful.  Obviously I would like to win, however I feel that this would be great for the club as well –because I did not do this alone, this has been a team effort with the entire Life Time community and I think we all, the Life Time family at West County, need a win.